Your friend eats too much junk food. How would you be able to bring about a change in his/her attitude towards food?
Choose the correct strategies to help your friend.
A. Encouraging him/her to read about healthy diet.
B. Showing him/her the negative consequences of eating junk food like obesity.
C. Control your friend by taking decision on his/her behalf regarding food intake.
D. Discouraging him/her to do physical activities.
E. Provide him/her a role model whom he/she likes so that he/she will imitate healthy behaviour of that person.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → A, B, E only
An attitude changes through the message a person receives and the source it comes from, not through force. Each strategy is judged on whether it changes the friend’s own views and feelings about food.
A. Encouraging him/her to read about healthy diet. Correct. This gives the friend information about the topic, a rational appeal. Attitudes change when the information given is just enough, neither too much nor too little.
B. Showing him/her the negative consequences of eating junk food like obesity. Correct. Pointing to a harm the friend cares about is an emotional appeal. A measure of fear can work well in convincing people, as long as the message does not frighten so much that it turns the friend off.
C. Control your friend by taking decision on his/her behalf regarding food intake. Incorrect. Deciding for the friend may change what she or he eats for a while, but it does not change the friend’s own attitude; the liking for junk food stays, and comes back once the control is gone.
D. Discouraging him/her to do physical activities. Incorrect. This works against a healthy lifestyle and has nothing to do with the friend’s attitude towards food.
E. Provide him/her a role model whom he/she likes so that he/she will imitate healthy behaviour of that person. Correct. This is the two-step concept: the target identifies with a source she or he likes, and when the source shows a healthy behaviour, the target imitates it. An attractive source also makes attitude change more likely.
NCERT (2025-26): “Factors that Influence Attitude Change … The message is the information that is presented in order to bring about an attitude change. Attitudes will change when the amount of information that is given about the topic is just enough, neither too much nor too little. Whether the message contains a rational or an emotional appeal, also makes a difference.…” “…Research has found that fear sometimes works well in convincing people but if a message generates too much fear, it turns off the receiver and has little persuasive effect.…” “…Source credibility and attractiveness are two features that affect attitude change.…” “Process of Attitude Change … Observing the source’s changed attitude and behaviour, the target also shows an attitude change through behaviour. This is a kind of imitation or observational learning.…” |